Sams Teach Yourself Adobe Flash CS4 Professional in 24 Hours

✍ Scribed by Phillip Kerman, Lynn Beighley

• Publisher: Sams
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 497
• Edition: 4
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, you can learn how to design, create, and deploy high-impact graphics and animation with Adobe Flash CS4 Professional.Using this book’s straightforward, step-by-step approach, you’ll master the skills and technologies you need, from creating interactivity and animation to optimizing and publishing your Flash movies on the Web.Each lesson builds on what you’ve already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success!    * Full-color figures and clear step-by-step instructions visually show you how to use Flash.    * Quizzes and Exercises at the end of each chapter help you test your knowledge.    * Notes, Tips, and Cautions provide related information, advice, and warnings.Learn how to…    * Make the most of the updated Flash interface, including its new Motion tools    * Draw and paint original art in Flash    * Use layers and the Library to efficiently organize your content    * Build animations using shape tweening, Flash CS4’s new motion tweening, and advanced inverse kinematics    * Create special effects with shapes, filters, and the new Deco Tool    * Add interactivity to your Flash movies    * Integrate a wide spectrum of audio and video content    * Use ready-built components to create sophisticated content without programming    * Get started with ActionScript 3    * Publish your movies to the Web    * Design modular Flash sites that load quickly and perform wellPhillip Kerman is an internationally recognized expert on the use of the Web and multimedia for training and entertainment. He has frequently presented at Macromedia and Adobe user conferences, and has taught Flash and other Adobe Web development technologies to working web professionals worldwide.Lynn Beighley, a freelance web programmer and designer, has written several Flash, Dreamweaver, and Photoshop books and training CDs. She has worked at Los Alamos National Labs, Palm, and Yahoo! Her dynamic Flash advertisements have appeared on Yahoo!’s home page.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 5
Introduction......Page 11
What's New in This Edition......Page 12
How This Book Is Organized......Page 13
What's on the Book's Website......Page 14
Part I: Assembling the Graphics You'll Animate in Flash......Page 15
Jump Right In and Make an Animation......Page 17
Getting Your Bearings......Page 19
Getting Around in Flash......Page 33
Document Properties......Page 38
File Types......Page 39
HOUR 2: Drawing and Painting Original Art in Flash......Page 45
Tools......Page 46
Selecting and Transforming Objects......Page 64
Vector Graphics Versus Raster Graphics......Page 79
Reasons to Avoid Importing Graphics......Page 80
Importing Vector Graphics......Page 81
Using Bitmaps (Also Known as Raster Graphics)......Page 85
The Concept of the Library......Page 99
Using the Library......Page 106
Using Symbols from the Library......Page 110
Using Blends and Filters......Page 123
Creating and Saving Color Swatches......Page 128
Setting Text......Page 139
Applied Examples Using Color Styles, Blends, and Filters......Page 144
Part II: Animating in Flash......Page 151
How Animation Works......Page 153
Elements of Animation......Page 154
Creating a Motion Tween......Page 167
Fine-Tuning a Motion Tween......Page 175
Making a Shape Tween......Page 187
Refining and Fine-Tuning a Shape Tween......Page 192
Linking Symbols with the Bone Tool......Page 201
Animating the Armature......Page 205
Creating a 3D Movie Clip......Page 213
Moving Objects with the 3D Translation Tool......Page 219
Rotating Objects with the 3D Rotation Tool......Page 220
The Motion Presets Panel......Page 225
Applying an Existing Motion Preset......Page 227
Editing an Existing Preset with the Motion Editor Panel......Page 232
Importing Sounds......Page 239
Using Sounds......Page 242
Controlling Quality and File Size......Page 251
Movie Clip Symbol Behavior......Page 263
Subtleties of Movie Clips......Page 270
Effects with Shapes......Page 277
Splatter Movie Clips with the Spray Brush Tool......Page 282
Using Filters for Special Effects......Page 284
Masking Effects......Page 287
Part III: Adding Interactivity and Video......Page 295
Basic ActionScript......Page 297
Making Simple Buttons......Page 305
Listening for Events......Page 309
What Is a Component?......Page 323
Using the Button Component......Page 327
Using the RadioButton Component......Page 329
Changing Component Appearances......Page 332
Using Data Providers......Page 339
Working with Other Components......Page 347
Embedding Video Versus Playing External Video......Page 355
Using Video......Page 362
3D Animation with Video......Page 373
Part IV: Putting It All Together for the Web......Page 377
Basic Publishing......Page 379
Simple Hyperlinks......Page 383
Using Style Sheets......Page 388
What Other Web Tasks Can Flash Do?......Page 390
Using Flash Inside a Larger Website......Page 392
Uploading Files to a Web Server......Page 396
Loading Movies or Images......Page 401
Determining When a Movie Is Fully Loaded......Page 405
Playing External Sounds......Page 408
Loading External Text......Page 409
File Size Considerations......Page 415
Measuring Performance......Page 437
Impacts on Performance......Page 438
How to Publish......Page 445
Adding Metadata to Your Flash Creation......Page 453
Choosing Which Version to Publish......Page 455
Deciding Which Media Types to Publish......Page 456
Exporting Other Media Types......Page 465
A......Page 469
B......Page 471
C......Page 472
D......Page 474
E......Page 475
F......Page 476
H......Page 478
I......Page 479
L......Page 480
M......Page 481
O......Page 483
P......Page 484
R......Page 485
S......Page 486
T......Page 489
V......Page 490
X-Y-Z......Page 491